journeying with more joy.

Ever Expanding

Tomorrow evening just past 5:30 CDT, Mercury ends his backward motion. Those of you who have been holding your breath can inhale deeply once again. 🙂

Remember when I said that Mercury Retrograde was helping Saturn backtrack into Scorpio? Well here is more evidence: the chart below, which is based on the moment Mercury stations, features Scorpio on the Ascendant and Saturn in the first house. Mercury sits in the 7th house…the partnership position. [I didn’t draw all of the houses, just the vertical and horizontal axes.]

Thanks to Venus and Vesta, we have a complete kite, illustrated by the shaded area. Kites are one of my favorite Astrological configurations. They are as productive as oppositions and squares, but are so much easier to move through. This is the way evolution and growth should be (and could be?).

[By the way, the moon conjuncted Vesta today right when Mercury made a sextile to Venus. Then the moon conjuncts Uranus tomorrow right about when Mercury stations.]

The other day, after witnessing the marriage of my friends, I had a visualization come to me in a dream. So often, religious guidance around marriage entails strong dos and don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts…in other words: obligation. In my opinion, making decisions based solely on obligation is the fastest way to find unhappiness.

So what would I say to a couple embarking on a marriage? My dream recommended this:

We are told by science that we live in an ever-expanding universe. In that model, any two objects will be slowly pulled apart as the space in between them expands. So how can two individuals, who share close intimacy now, hope to maintain that intimacy and closeness going forward? Through obligatory obeyance? Probably not.

The way to maintain closeness within a relationship (or in any life situation) is to grow along with the expansion of the space around you. If the space between you expands by a foot, then each of you needs to grow six inches to stay just as close—like so:

This, of course, is an analogy, but a really good one. Furthermore, consider this: some think that we are here in human form to learn lessons. I’ve seen it said that lessons keep returning until we get them (and pass the test).

I now think of it like this: when we expand, we move into territory we have not occupied before. We are not learning lessons like school children learning to multiply, we are acclimating to something new, something we’ve never experienced before…at least not precisely. (I have to say, this way of thinking feels so much better to me. What do you think?)

Mercury oppositing Saturn will certainly bring up the subject of obligation, obeying rules, and keeping vows. Mercury wants freedom while Saturn wants responsibility. Venus and Vesta completes the picture by reminding us that dedication (Vesta) is born of love (Venus). Returning to love when it’s lost may require loving self first, which both Aries and Leo support.

In response to my musing, my guides reminded me of a conversation between John and his Guru in chapter 10 of Swords of my novel Journey to the Temple of Ra:

[Guru says:] “My boy, the Perfection of the Universe is difficult to see. To the uninitiated, it can materialize as an arduous task or a poignant challenge. You see only what was taken, not what was given in its place.”

“Even so, did it have to be like that?” [John asks.]

“It was not the way it hadto have been, nor the way it was supposed to have been, yet it was perfect the way it was nevertheless.”

“I guess the first problem is fearing men like that to begin with…and the second problem…is feeling violated by their actions.”

“I would say the first problem is believing there is a problem, and the second problem is experiencing that belief over and over again. Your fear is not the problem; it is there to show you your innermost thoughts. The entire Universe conspires to help you get from where you are to where you want to be. It is not wrong to be where you are, but it is an illusion to think you are someplace else.”